Pauline Hanson’s big move after a court found she racially discriminated against Mehreen Faruqi in tweet

Pauline Hanson has lodged an appeal after a court found she had racially discriminated against a fellow senator in a tweet.

Pauline Hanson has launched an appeal after the Federal Court found she racially discriminated against Mehreen Faruqi when she tweeted at her fellow senator telling her to “piss off back to Pakistan”.

Senator Faruqi launched legal action against Senator Hanson in the Federal Court over the September 9, 2022 tweet, which was sent the day after Queen Elizabeth II died.

The inflammatory exchange was sparked when the Greens deputy leader posted a tweet declaring she “cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples”.

Senator Hanson fired that she was “appalled” by the post and suggesting Senator Faruqi “pack (her) bags and piss off back to Pakistan”.

The Federal Court found Pauline Hanson racially discriminated against senator Mehreen Faruqi. Picture: Dan Peled/NewsWire.

Senator Faruqi claimed the tweet was racially discriminatory and provoked a “torrent of abuse”.

In his judgment handed down earlier this month, Justice Angus Stewart said the tweet was “reasonably likely in all the circumstances” to “offend, insult, humiliate and intimidate (Ms Faruqi) and groups of people, namely people of colour who are migrants to Australia.”

Justice Stewart said Senator Hanson had given no reasonable justification for publishing “messages that are racist, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim”.

Mehreen Faruqi earlier this month won her racial discrimination case against Pauline Hanson. Picture: NewsWire/Monique Harmer.

However Senator Hanson on Wednesday filed an appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court, arguing Justice Stewart was wrong to admit autobiographical affidavits and a number of reports into evidence.

“I’m very grateful for the generosity and support provided by the Australian people after the decision in October,” Senator Hanson said in a statement.

“My office has been inundated with calls offering moral and financial support and expressing their disgust at the decision and Faruqi’s conduct.

“These Australians understand what Faruqi and the Greens never have: when you are given the extraordinary privilege of representing Australians in Parliament, you don’t trash our country. You don’t trash its institutions. You don’t trash its people.”

Originally published as Pauline Hanson’s big move after a court found she racially discriminated against Mehreen Faruqi in tweet